Although Japanese junior colleges differ from American junior colleges in that they are smaller, more often privately owned, have larger female enrollments, and offer a greater number of home economics and English courses, much can be learned from the Japanese accreditation system. An accreditation self-study eventually takes the form of an…

Experiences in teaching a first-year reading course in the intensive English program at Kansai Gaidai Junior College (Japan) are discussed. In the period described, there were six classes of 16 students each. A proficiency-oriented approach incorporating a learner development component was adopted to facilitate the transition from traditional…